Railroad-rail.



R. D. MUORB.

RAILROAD RAIL.

APPLICATION FILED r213. 23, 1911.

Patented June 6, 1911.

Attorneys 55 and Fig. 6 is a fragmental longitudinal sec- FFTQ.

RICHARD J). MOORE, OF GALESBUBG, ILLINOIS.

RAILROAD-RAIL.

Application filed February 23, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD D. MOORE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Galesburg, in the county of Knox and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Railroad-Rail, of which the following is aspecification.

One object of this invention, is to provide a railroad rail which willbe strongest at the joints, thereby preventing sagging at these points.

Another object of the invention is to provide a two-part rail, oneportion of which may be broken, without interfering with the continuityof the rail.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rail which may readilybe laid. in place and removed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railroad rail having adouble web, the strength of the rail being thereby increased, withoutincreasing the weight of the rail.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railroad rail, theconstituent ele ments of which may be united to form a continuous lengthof track, without the use of fish plates or angle bars.

A further object of the invention is to provide as an article ofmanufacture, a railroad rail, adapted to be assembled with another, likerail, to form a two-part structure, transversely considered, there beingno rights nor lefts in the structure, but a single form of rail elementbeing employed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings,--Figure 1 is a top plan of a stretch of railway trackfashioned from the rail elements of my invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontallongitudinal section of the structure shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is anenlarged transverse section on the line AB of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is anenlarged section on the line C-D of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a perspective ofthe rail element which is duplicated to fashion the continuous length oftrack;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 6, 1911.

Serial No. 610,276.

tion showing a modified form of the invention.

Referring particularly to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the element whichis duplicated tofashion the length of track, consists of a web 1, a ball2, and a flange 3. The ball 2 and the flange 3 are cut through uponlines diverging from the middle portion of the rail toward the ends ofthe rail so that, as denoted by the numeral 4, the ball 2 and the flange3 decrease in width from an intermediate point 5 in the rail, to theends 6 of the rail. Moreover, as most clearly discernible in Fig. 2, theweb 1 slants toward the longitudinal center of the rail, from both endsof the rail toward the point 5, which is the point of greatest width inthe ball 2 and in the flange 3.

The track consists of two lines of rails, each line consisting of aplurality of elements such as is shown in Fig. 5, in terminal abutmentas shown at 9, the ends of the elements which go to make up the lengthof track being cut-off rectangularly withrespect to the longerdimension, as shown at 8. The elements of these two lines of rails abutlaterally against each other, as shown at 10, in their balls 2, and intheir flanges 3 only, the webs 1 being spaced apart, as clearly shown inFigs. 3 and 4:- Moreover, the joints in one of these lines of railsalternate with the joints in the other line of rails, the joints in oneline being disposed opposite to the widest portions 5 of the ball 2 andof the flange 3 of the adjoining line. The elements which go to make upone line of rails, may be united with the elements which go to make upthe other line of rails, by bolts 14, or other elements adapted to alike end, the use of fish plates or angle bars being renderedunnecessary.

If desired, as shown in Fig. 6, the webs 11 may be thickened as shown at12, adjacent the intermediate point 5 of the rail.

It is to be noted that before the wheel of the car has passed ofi theend of one rail section, the wheel will have begun to traverse theintermediate portion of an oppositely disposed section, and since thejoints in one line are disposed opposite to the widest portions of therails in the adjoining line, the track line will be strengthened at thepoints where the elements of one line abut. Any sagging, or battering atthis point will therefore be avoided. Since the ball 2 and the flange 3increase in width from the ends of the rail section to the intermediatepoint thereof, the rail will be strongest at a point between its ends,this point of greatest strength being disposed opposite to the joints inthe adjoining line of elements which go to make up the continuous lengthof track.

By reason of the fact'that as shown at 7, the web 1 slants toward thelongitudinal center of each rail section, from both ends of the rail,toward the point 5 of greatest width in the ball 2 and in the flange 3,the ball 1 will be strengthened and reinforced, adjacent itslongitudinal center, at a point opposite the abutting ends of thesections of the adjoining line. This construction obviously tends toincrease the strength of the rail at the joints in the rail line.

A single rail element may at any time be removed from the track, andreplaced by a new element, there being no rights and lefts in thestructure, and it being entirely immaterial to which side of the trackline, the rail element is applied.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6, the web 11 is thickened,as shown at 12. The construction shown in Fig. 6, furnishes an auxiliarymeans for strengthening the track line at its weakest point, namelywhere the ends of two rail sections abut, it being noted that this pointis the only point in the rail line which is not reinforced by acontinuous double web, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4:.

The rail herein disclosed may be made in relatively short lengths, sayfifteen feet, and thus a small gang may relay rapidly a stretch oftrack, the handling of the rails being readily accomplished by two men.No fixed length is, however, insisted upon as essential.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed is 1. As an articleof manufacture, a railroad rail consisting of a web, a ball and afla'nge, the ball and the flange decreasing continuously in width from asingle intermediate point upon the rail to the opposite ends of therail.

2. As an article of manufacture, a railroad rail consisting of a web, aball and a flange, the ball and the flange decreasing continuously inwidth from a single intermediate point upon the rail to the oppositeends of the rail, the web being thickened at the point of greatest widthof the ball and the flange.

3. As an article of manufacture, a railroad rail consisting of a web, aball and a flange, the ball and the flange decreasing continuously inwidth from a single intermediate point upon the rail to the oppositeends of the rail, the web consisting of two portions slanting toward thelongitudina center of the rail from both extreme ends of the rail to thepoint of greatest width of the ball and the flange.

4:. As an article of manufacture, a railroad rail consisting of a web, aball and a flange, the ball and the flange decreasing continuously inwidth from a single intermediate point upon the rail to the oppositeends of the rail, the ball having a straight edge extended the fulllength of the rail.

5. A track consisting of two lines of terminally adjoining rails,engaging laterally in their balls and flanges only, to space their websapart, the joints in one line alternating with the joints of the otherline, the ball and the flange of each rail decreasing in width from apoint opposite the joints in the adjoining lines, toward the ends ofsaid rail.

6. A track consisting of two lines of terminally adjoining rails,engaging laterally in their balls and flanges only, to space their websapart, the joints in one line alternating with the joints of the otherline, the web of each rail slanting toward the longitudinal center ofsaid rail, from both ends of said rail.

7 A track consisting of two lines of terminally adjoining rails,engaging laterally in their balls and flanges only, to space their websapart, the joints in one line alternating with the oints of the otherline, the ball and the flange of each rail increasing in width from apoint opposite the joints in the adjacent line, toward the middle ofsaid rail, the web of each rail slanting toward the longi tudinal centerof said rail from both ends of said rail.

8. As an article of manufacture, a railroad rail consisting of a web, aball and a flange, the ball and the flange decreasing continuously inwidth, from a single inter mediate point upon the rail to the oppositeends of the rail, the ball and the flange having a straight edge,extended the full length of the rail.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD D. MOORE.

Witnesses:

ROBERT D. RoBINsoN, WEBB A. HERLOOKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe. Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

